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Since the Controlled Substances Act was passed in 1971, marijuana has been a Schedule I drug, meaning it was in the same category as more lethal drugs like heroin and meth.

Schedule III drugs are defined by the DEA as ones \"with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence,\" such as \"Tylenol with codeine, ketamine, anabolic steroids [and] testosterone.\"

\"PHOTO:
Carolyn Kaster/AP
PHOTO: Nikko Griffin, left, and Tyra Patterson, call out to arriving voters for several issues, including Issue 2, legalizing recreational marijuana, at a parking lot during early in-person voting in Cincinnati, Nov. 2, 2023.
>

In October, the White House asked the Department of Health and Human Services to study whether marijuana could be rescheduled.

\"In 2023, HHS conducted a scientific and medical evaluation of marijuana based on a comprehensive review of available data at that time and recommended that marijuana be transferred to Schedule III,\" the proposed rule says.

In an August letter to the DEA administrator, the assistant secretary for health for HHS, Adm. Rachel L. Levine, recommended that marijuana be controlled in Schedule III.

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